Sept 21 - Psalm 31:15

My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand

of my enemies and from

those who persecute me.

Psalm 31:15

Think quick ... when I say "two hands," what are you envisioning?

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking about my hands. A left and a right. (And in my case, the left being much more skilled.)

Maybe you thought about two hands offered in friendship - thus, hands shaking in the warmth of a greeting.

Did any of you think about two hands grasped tightly, angrily? Perhaps like two competitors arm wrestling? And what if those two hands are grappling in a fierce and mortal combat?

Those are the two kinds of hands that today's verse talks about. One hand is the hand of an enemy. It is persecuting us. Threatening even to slay us. "Deliver me," cries the Psalmist, "from the hand of my enemies."

Some hands are clenched in anger, threatening violence. But other hands reach out with compassion. They help. They comfort. They save. That's how the Psalmist views God. Not only does our Lord bless us and keep us each day, but our entire lives (our very "times") are in his hands ... if we desire that to be the case.

Have you ever watched a child try to squirm out of a parent's loving hands? Have you ever watched a confused teen run into the arms of trouble and temptation? The disposition of our heart does nothing to change God's loving care or evil's dark intent, but it constantly changes what and how we experience life.

Avoid the hands and temptations that want to do you in ...

And place yourself, instead, in God's loving embrace.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who has better

insurance than even

AllState can provide

(I'm in good hands

with God who's Great)